ELD Compliance, 30 Days in the Hole

I don't believe the ELD mandate is all about safety but it removes those that carry this attitude from the road. I've seen a lot of social media activity and many callers into radio shows regarding this and their arguments are rooted in economic justifications for disregarding the rules and the argument that they are a free American and shouldn't be monitored by the government.

The government is not tracking you. Your HOS is only visible to you, the carrier, and the ELD company. The only time the government has access to it is during roadside inspection or an FMCSA safety audit. This is exactly how paper logs worked. The ELD mandate is only a change in how HOS are recorded, nothing else has changed.

I don't understand why you and others of similar opinion take running "only 2500 miles" or less to suggest those of us doing that are somehow less of a driver or business owner. I have months where I've only driven 9800 miles and made just as much as months where I drive 11k. More miles isn't a good measure of making money or, more importantly, profitability.

In your example of waiting on picks and having to drive 2000 miles and the suggestion that an ELD makes this impossible; Going forward as shippers feel the squeeze you should be insisting on actual appointment times and probably an additional day of transit. If you want to haul cross country freight you'll need to do it in a way that allows you to run recaps and drive 9.5 hours a day and you'll never run out. And if you know on the front end that a place is closed and put yourself in a position that requires violating HOS, why not do something short to burn a day or two and then get the long haul out? That is what I do, and run recaps, I never run out of hours.

Since running my own authority I haven't had issues where I've had to fudge logs to make appointments. If you can't do it, say no, there's always something else you can run.

As you said, you aren't going to let the enforcement stakeholders stand in your way of providing for your family and getting home safe. I have friends that hold the same view and if making money and getting home when you want, regardless of how you do it, is really your primary concern than the ELD mandate is doing what it was designed to do by pushing you in the direction of leaving the industry. I have no doubt you're an experienced guy and all of the other things you said about yourself but the idea of forced compliance provided by the ELD mandate will remove from the industry those that are out for themselves and their bank account and those that don't view it as a safety sensitive, commercial enterprise.

Paper logs made the job fun and easy, I'll give you that. ELDs take away the ability to give yourself "flexibility", as some say, to cover your short comings. No established carriers will be affected by this as they follow the rules already but for small guys like many that visit this forum , will be forced to make a decision; Can I run a trucking business without the flexibility of paper or do I take my money and run?

I myself am only a one truck guy with my own MC and running an ELD from day one hasn't stopped me from running a profitable business. If the broker doesn't want to commit on appointment times I don't take the load and hope for the best. I make sure every load has the time I need to get it done. I only drive 60 MPH everywhere I go and I don't take loads that put me in a position where I have to drive fast and furious to do it.

There is so much opportunity right now to run a profitable business but so many lack the patience for it and respect for the rules that govern it to do so. If you have the experience you say you do, I don't see why you don't run compliant, change your driving habits and running area, and still make good money and be home when you need to be. There are so many options right now.

 

Did you just wake up to the fact you were in a govt. regulated industry?

 

Obviously not.

 

Looks that way.

To the op, I fail to see where elog tracks you anymore than what paper logs do. Other than forcing you to be compliant with the laws on the books, the only issue I see is for the small owner ops with the increased cost of doing business. My elog doesn't force me to drive faster or more aggressive, that's all on me and my ability to control myself. I see many elog exempt trucks flying by me all the time in construction zones and lowered speed limit areas like major cities all the time.

 

Good readings.

 

I do advocate for limited government involvement in many aspects of life but the ELD is only a change in the method of recording HOS and not a new regulation. I have also said in other places that HOS is a problem. However, you can't change it if the driver utilizes the flexibility of paper logs to make up for everyone else's mistakes. By forcing everyone into strict compliance you can build a case backed by real data to support changes. In regards to regulation in general, I don't agree with the federal government strong arming the population. The Constitution grants the federal government power to regulate how interstate commerce operates so, I may not like what they do but it is a Constitutionally granted power.

An example of my thinking that relates to trucking; If you look at what the EPA has done with trucks, I strongly oppose their actions and their authority. While, on the other hand, CARB is something I support as it is a State response to a pollution problem affecting a population. There are many other federal agencies making policy that should be left to the States and I am confident you'd arrive at the same result in their absence.

You're right about the screen name. Regulations are important and have their place in a complex economy. I focus more so on economic manipulation federal and State governments through taxation, monetary policy, legislation, and spending and how this distorts an economy and produces crises like the housing crisis of recent history. Regulations are not a form of economic manipulation. I suppose some workplace regulations regarding minimum wage and the hiring and firing of employees could be considered a form of economic manipulation but that's the only one that comes to mind.

Regulations make things more expensive and complex to comply but don't necessarily affect economic calculation. When I look at regulations I focus on where they originate and whether this is a federal issue or a State one. Many times States defer to the Federal government because, why get your hands dirty when you don't have to; And it shouldn't be that way. In the case of ELDs, it is a federal responsibility, while I don't agree with HOS, the federal government has the power to regulate it as they please.

Change doesn't happen fast but I think the ELD will change a lot of things and not put responsibility on the driver to make up for everyone else's mistakes. I have already seen a change in how brokers are handling their freight and how some shippers and receivers have changed their rules. I've been to several plants that have let me drop my trailer and park while their yard driver moves it around so I can get a break in. They wouldn't let me do that before. I think by July through August most places will have action plans in place to handle the ELD reality. Company drivers do get the shaft here as you don't have control of your clock; the company does. If you're leased to someone or run your own numbers and have control of your loads you won't have a problem.

 

All good arguments, but this was done under the auspices of safety and in my opinion it will not improve safety. Those that spent money lobbying for this mandate did not in my opinion have safety in mind.

HOS are indeed the problem, and compliance via ELDs hopefully will bring up the HOS rules and possible changes, although I'm not keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Can ya'll stream the fight via the fite app? I've never seen two keyboard warriors duke it out before.

Sirscrapntruckalot - Worldstar! - Whoever wins the fight?